Whither the Spoiled Children of Finance?

This morning I discussed the fact that half the working adult population over 45 years old has less than 25 grand saved so far for retirement. This afternoon, let’s visit a different tragedy in-the-making, one of expectation adjustment and the king of all reality checks.

Here’s Michael Lewis at Bloomberg:

I didn’t go looking for the kid. He found me. Of course, it stood to reason, with what’s been happening on Wall Street, that the children of Greenwich, Connecticut, must be taking a serious financial hit.

The end of cash bonuses, the ramping up of financial regulation, the shrinking of the Goldman Sachs analyst pool, Chelsea Clinton’s confessing that she quit her Wall Street job to find meaning in life: Wherever you turn, you find signs that an era in which a lot of children were paid to keep quiet is grinding to an end.

Maybe the game is over; maybe it isn’t. But one thing is certain: If you are 12 years old, and your dad works on Wall Street, it’s a lot less likely Beyonce will be singing at your 13th birthday party.